Shillong, Aug 24 (IANS) Defeated presidential candidate Purno A. Sangma Friday started his new political innings with the National People’s Party (NPP).
His sons James K. Sangma and Conrad K. Sangma are among 13 Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislators in the 60-member Meghalaya assembly who joined the new party.
Conrad is the leader of opposition in the assembly.
Sangma’s daughter Agatha Sangma, a minister in the Congress-led UPA, will continue to be part of the NCP till 2014.
“It was a tough but bold decision to join NPP based on my principles,” Sangma said.
Sangma explained why he had formed a new party.
“Once I was the most powerful man in the Congress. No files used to go without my approval and everyone used to tremble before me. Yet, I quit that party not for any bigger post, but for my principles,” the former Lok Sabha speaker said.
After he broke away from the Congress in 1999, Sangma founded the NCP with Sharad Pawar and Tariq Anwar. In 2004, he merged his faction with the Trinamool Congress before rejoining the NCP in 2006.
This year, Sangma quit NCP after Pawar refused to endorse his presidential candidature. He also gave up his membership of the Meghalaya assembly.
“I have changed my party for a cause and principle. We (NPP) will now focus on the welfare of our tribal population and to assert our rights,” he said.
The leader of the opposition said all the 13 NCP legislators would meet Speaker Charles Pyngrope and hand over a formal letter of NCP’s merger with NPP.
